In finding their next pastor, churches usually form a search committee, who, armed with a list of requirements and expectations, will sift various applicants as well as perhaps “head-hunt” for their next pastor (which sometimes results in pastoral “poaching” from another local church).
Thirty years ago, when BBC needed a pastor, a search committee was formed, comprising mostly deacons and their wives. I have pleasant memories of how they handled themselves, seeking to biblically consider what they should be searching for in a pastor-teacher.
Over the years, BBC has reformed to a more biblically faithful church governance, including a plurality of pastors (elders), who will be responsible as the next “search committee.” Nevertheless, the essentials of what we should be looking for in the next pastor-teacher remain what they were three decades ago. After all, neither 1 Timothy 3:1–7 nor Titus 1:5–9 nor 1 Peter 5:1–5 have disappeared from our Bibles. Those who pastor are to have the required character, commitment, and capacity as revealed in these and other texts. These biblical requirements are what we should look for in the next pastor-teacher. Arising from the biblical requirements are some other general expectations which we should “search” for in BBC’s next pastor-teacher. These non-negotiables are derived from the general description of what God has revealed in his word concerning those who lead and feed and give heed to his people.
First, the pastor-teacher must possess pastoral passion.
Being a vocational pastor must never be merely a means of employment, nor should it be a step to another ministry, perhaps even a step to a larger church. Rather, the pastor-teacher must be passionate about shepherding the flock of God assigned to him. To faithfully shepherd, the pastor-teacher must have an obvious love for God, a love for God’s word, and a love for God’s people. In fact, these three loves are homiletical (preaching) necessities. That is, a pastor who loves God will love God’s word, and will love God’s people. These loves will drive him to do the necessary work of delivering God’s word to God’s people in a way that they will receive it for their benefit and for God’s glory. This means that …
Second, the pastor-teacher must be committed to hard work.
Paul’s most frequent word in the context of describing his faithful ministry is a Greek word kopiao, which means “to work to the point of exhaustion” (see 1 Timothy 4:10; 5:17). Paul laboured to the point of weariness, not weariness of the work but weariness from the work. I don’t think Paul had a difficult time sleeping. He was good and exhausted at the end of the day. To play on those words, Paul was good (i.e. above reproach and hence respectable) partly because he exhausted himself in the work of his God-appointed ministry. This is the expectation for elders in general, but particularly for those who serve vocationally as the pastor-teacher. He should earn his keep, exhaustively.
This means he will work hard at prayer; he will work hard at preaching; he will work hard at pastoring the congregation. And he should probably also work hard at play. After all, if he will continue to work hard in his work he will need to be fit to do so. The saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” could be reworked, “All work and no play makes a pastor a dead or at best a depressed boy.” I am not suggesting that the next pastor-teacher be a runner, but he should be someone disciplined to take care of his body physically. This will further equip him to care of the body of Christ spiritually.
Third, the pastor-teacher, if married, should have a wife who wholeheartedly supports him in the ministry.
Thirty years ago, I was asked by the search committee how my wife would serve in the church. I answered that Jill would be a faithful church member, but they should not expect of her some kind of special ministry. Rather than expecting her to teach Bible studies, to be the leader of a women’s group, etc. what they had a right to expect was that my wife would prioritise her God-given role and responsibility as a wife and a mother. She has done this faithfully. She has been God’s gift helping me to be what I could not be without her, in life and in ministry. In this way, and in so many other ways, she has served BBC. In other words, the next pastor-teacher, if married, should have a home life characterised by 1 Timothy 3:1–7 empowered by Proverbs 31.
Well, there is more, but that’s all for now,
Doug